Remotely operated enclosure lock systems

ABSTRACT

Lock systems for selectively securing and accessing an enclosure include a housing having a movable locking member disposed therein, with the housing being suitable for installation on the enclosure interior, for example proximate a door. A drive device disposed in the housing is operable to move the locking member between locked and unlocked positions, to correspondingly engage and disengage the door. A receiver responsive to signals transmitted by one or more remote control units selectively operates the drive device. Some embodiments include a wireless remote control  unit as well as a wired remote control unit, and may couple with an external power supply to power various components of the lock system.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application, Ser.No. 61/542,609, filed on Oct. 3, 2011, which is hereby incorporated byreference for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to lock systems, and in particular to locksystems adapted for use on the interior of an enclosure and activatedfrom positions outside the enclosure.

BACKGROUND

Enclosures that are commonly used to contain and safeguard valuableitems may assume all manner of forms, including safes and othercompartments; sheds, garages, or other permanent structures or partsthereof; vehicles or portions thereof (such as a trunk); trailersadapted to be towed behind vehicles (such as a horse trailer); and soforth. Such enclosures may serve to isolate items stored inside theenclosure from the elements, from animals, and/or from unauthorizedpersons, and generally include a door allowing access within.

In general, lock systems may keep an enclosure door in a lockedposition, preventing unauthorized access to the interior of anenclosure, and may take a variety of forms. Many enclosures are designedto incorporate a lock system: for example, a vehicle trunk typicallyincludes an integrated lock system installed during manufacture. Forother enclosures, a range of door lock designs, such as padlocks,locksets, deadbolts, and so forth, may be used.

However, many door lock designs may not be compatible with someenclosure and/or door configurations. Deadbolts, for example, require acavity to be formed in the door and/or the doorframe for installation,and while suitable for wood or steel doors traditionally used in homesand buildings, deadbolts may be quite cumbersome to install in someenclosures—for example, horse trailer doors, which typically have adifferent composition and/or configuration.

An alternative for some enclosure configurations is the use of a padlockor other locking mechanism mounted and operated on the exterior of thedoor. Although perhaps more versatile, the use of an exterior padlock,like other exterior installations, exposes the lock system to tamperingor even being disabled. For example, padlocks may be compromised bybeing picked, smashed, cut open, and so forth.

Additionally, a limitation of many lock systems is a lack of redundantor backup operating means. A primary purpose of security systems is theprovision of selective access to an enclosure, which requires that thesecurity system is readily locked and unlocked. Conventional locksystems only provide a single operating means, such as a single padlockcombination, a single keyhole for a key, and so forth. The drawback withsuch configurations is that if the operating means are somehowcompromised (e.g., the user forgets the padlock combination, loses thekey or locks it inside the enclosure, breaks the key inside the keyhole,and so forth), access to or locking of the enclosure is not possible.

SUMMARY

Various embodiments of a lock system for selectively locking andunlocking an enclosure are disclosed herein. In some embodiments, thelock system includes a housing having a movable locking member disposedat least partially within, with the housing being suitable forinstallation on the interior of an enclosure, for example proximate adoor thereto. Such embodiments may be actuable via one or more controlunits located remotely from the housing, for example to allow theenclosure to be locked and unlocked by a user on the outside of theenclosure by means of a control unit.

In particular, some embodiments of the lock system, in addition to ahousing and a movable locking member at least partially disposed in thehousing, also include a drive device disposed in the housing and beingoperable to move the locking member between locked and unlockedpositions (which may correspond to positions in which the locking memberrespectively engages, and does not engage, the door), and a receiveroperably coupled to the drive device and being responsive to signalstransmitted from the one or more remote control units.

In some embodiments, the one or more control units may include redundantunits, such as a primary unit and a backup unit. In such embodiments,the redundant control units may take different forms, such as a primaryunit in the form of a wireless remote control unit, and a backup unit inthe form of a wired remote control unit. As explained below, in someinstallations, for example when the enclosure with which the lock systemis used is part of a vehicle trailer, the wired remote control unit maybe installed at a concealed location elsewhere on the vehicle trailer,and/or may be operable only via a key.

In some embodiments, the lock system may be powered by a power sourcelocated in the housing, such as in the form of one or more batteries,and/or may be powered by an external power source, such as by couplingthe drive device and/or other powered components of the lock system to apower supply. Such a power supply may be selected according to thenature of the enclosure with which the lock system is used, andtherefore may include a vehicle power supply, a trailer power supply, astructural power supply, and so forth.

The concepts, features, methods, and component configurations brieflydescribed above are clarified with reference to the accompanyingdrawings and detailed description below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an illustrative example configurationof a lock system in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a partially-schematic top view of an example commercialembodiment of a lock system in accordance with the present disclosure,with the housing shown in partial cutaway to show internal components ofthe lock system. The lock system of FIG. 2 is shown to be mounted to awall of an enclosure proximate a door. In other examples, the positionof the lock system and the catch may be reversed. For example, the locksystem may be mounted to the door of an enclosure in a position to alignwith the catch mounted to the wall of the enclosure.

FIG. 3 is a partially-schematic top view of an example horse trailer inwhich components of the lock system of FIG. 2 are shown to be installed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The lock systems according to the present disclosure are describedherein with reference to the drawings, in which illustrative,non-exclusive examples of lock systems and installations thereof areillustrated. The lock systems and various components, assemblies,configurations, and other characteristics thereof are not limited to thespecific embodiments, and may incorporate any number of the variousaspects, configurations, characteristics, properties, etc. of the locksystems illustrated and discussed with reference to the schematicrepresentations and/or embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-3, as well asvariations thereof, without requiring the inclusion of all such aspects,configurations, characteristics, properties, etc. For the purpose ofbrevity, each previously discussed component, part, portion, aspect,region, etc. or variants thereof may not be discussed, illustrated,and/or labeled again with respect to later-discussed embodiments,however, it is within the scope of the present disclosure that thepreviously discussed features, variants, etc. may be utilized with anyof all of the lock systems and configurations described herein.

FIG. 1, for example, schematically shows an illustrative, non-exclusiveexample of a lock system 10 in accordance with the present disclosure.In general, lock system 10 includes a housing 12 configured to housevarious components of the lock system, such as a movable locking member14 that is at least partially disposed in the housing; this is indicatedschematically by a portion of the locking member 14 being shown toprotrude from the housing 12. As discussed in more detail below, in someembodiments, housing 12 is also configured to be mounted on an interiorwall of an enclosure proximate a door, and thus may assume any physicalconfiguration suitable for such installation. In still furtherembodiments, the housing is configured to be mounted on an interior wallof a door proximate an interior wall of an enclosure, and thus mayassume any physical configuration suitable for such installation.

Locking member 14 is movable relative to the housing (and to anystructure to which the housing is mounted), such as between a lockingposition in which a door (not shown) is locked, such as by means ofengaging the locking member (or a portion thereof) with the door (orstructure mounted thereon), and an unlocked position in which the dooris not locked (such as by disengaging the locking member from the doorstructure). The locking and unlocked positions of the locking member 14are schematically indicated in dashed and solid lines, respectively.

A drive device 16 is also disposed in the housing and is operablycoupled to locking member 14, to move the locking member between theunlocked and locking positions. The movement is shown schematically byarrow A, although the manner of movement typically depends on the natureof the locking member used. In other words, although locking member 14is shown to move linearly between a locking position that is extendedfrom the housing, and an unlocked position that is substantiallyrestracted into the housing, this is certainly not required to allembodiments. The drive device 16 may include one or more motors,appropriate gear assemblies, hydraulic and/or pneumatic mechanisms, andso forth, as suitable to the particular configuration of the drivedevice and the application in which the lock system is used. Asdescribed in more detail below, in an example commercial embodiment,drive device 16 and locking member 14 are collectively defined by asuitable mechanism such as an actuator (for example, a sliding actuator,a rotary actuator, a linear actuator, and so forth), but this is notrequired to all embodiments.

A receiver 18 is operably coupled to drive device 16, such as bysuitable wiring or other connection means. The dashed portion of housing12 schematically indicates that receiver 18 may be housed within housing12. For example, in some embodiments, the receiver may be disposedoutside of the housing, such as attached to the housing or even spacedaway therefrom. Receiver 18 is configured to be responsive to one ormore selectively actuable control devices or units 20 (also collectivelyreferred to herein as a control system 22), each of which are configuredto be actuated, such as by a user, to transmit a signal. The receiver isalso configured to operate the drive device to move the locking memberwhen a signal is received.

The signal transmission means, schematically indicated by the dashedline connecting the control system 22 to the receiver 18, may be asdesired for the particular application. Moreover, more than one signaltransmission means may be employed, and/or may differ among controlunits 20 of the control system 22. For example, some embodiments mayinclude a wired control unit that is hard-wired to the receiver and awireless control unit that transmits a signal to the receiver viawireless means (for example, radio, IR, WiFi, and so forth). Asexplained in detail below, some embodiments include a control system 22having multiple control units 20 (such as a wireless remote control aswell as a wired remote control), which may provide a user redundantoperating means, such as if a wireless remote control unit is lost ordoes not function, allowing the wired remote control unit to be usedinstead.

The lock system 10 includes and/or is coupled to one or more powersources 24, which are configured to provide power to various componentsof the lock system (e.g., drive device 16, receiver 18, and so forth).For example, as represented schematically in FIG. 1, lock system 10 iscoupled to an external power source 24 and may also include an on-boardpower source 24. The nature of the power source may be a function of theconfiguration of the lock system components. For example, if the drivedevice and/or receiver are electrically powered, examples of externalpower sources may include an electrical power supply such as a vehiclepower supply, a building power supply, and so forth, whereas examples ofon-board power sources may include one or more batteries.

As with the receiver 18, an on-board power source may be commonly housedin the housing 12 or disposed without. In embodiments including and/orcoupled to multiple power sources, the lock system may be configured,such as by means of a switch device, appropriate circuitry, and soforth, to draw power from one power source as a primary power source,and to draw power from a secondary or backup power source in the eventthat the primary power source fails to provide power.

In operation, the lock system 10 may be used to selectively lock andunlock a door of an enclosure. For example, the lock system 10 isoperable by means of a user actuating one of the control units 20 totransmit a signal to the receiver 18. Upon receipt of the signal, thereceiver operates the drive device to move the locking member from thelocking to the unlocked position (or vice versa), such as to enable theuser to remotely lock or unlock the door to the enclosure. As such, thelock system 10 is suitable for installation on the interior of anenclosure, safeguarding the components thereof from both exposure andpossible compromise by unauthorized personnel, but may be readilyoperated from the exterior via one or more control units 20. Moreover,the lock system 10 may provide backup operating means in the event thatone of the control units fails to function.

FIG. 2 is a partially-schematic top view of an example commercialembodiment of a lock system 10 in accordance with the presentdisclosure. By way of example only, the lock system 10 shown in FIG. 2and generally indicated at 100, and the illustrated components thereof,are described herein and shown in the form and configuration of acommercially provided lock system in use with an enclosure disposed in atrailer designed to be towed behind a vehicle. Specifically, thecommercial embodiment is shown and described for installation and use ina tack room of a horse trailer. However, it is intended that theconcepts and configurations described below are applicable toapplications other than installation and use in horse trailers,including use in other types of vehicle trailers or mobile structures,as well as in vehicles, and/or permanent structures such as storagesheds, houses, and other buildings, and portions thereof such as roomsor closets, and so forth. Such applications are considered to be withinthe scope of this disclosure.

As shown, for example, in FIG. 3, a horse trailer (indicated at T)typically includes several interior rooms or enclosures, depending onits size, such as living or dressing quarters (Q), one or more horsestalls (H₁, H₂), and a tack room (R) that is generally used for storinghorse tack (e.g. saddles, harnesses, stirrups, and other equestrianequipment or accessories). The tack room and other enclosures aretypically each provided with an exterior door, which is generallydesired to be kept locked when the tack room is not in use, consideringthat the equestrian equipment typically stored therein is often quitecostly. Many users of horse trailers find the conventional method ofsecuring a tack room door, e.g. with a padlock on the exterior, to befaulty for the reasons explained above—that is, an exterior padlock issusceptible to being compromised by an intruder, does not offer backupoperating means, and so forth. As such, lock system 100 is shown inFIGS. 2 and 3 to be installed on the interior of the tack room, yet isoperable from the exterior.

With reference to FIG. 2, lock system 100 can be seen to include ahousing 110 that includes a cover 112 attached to a mounting plate 114.The mounting plate is shown to be installed to an interior wall W of atack room, proximate a door D thereto, by any suitable means (such asscrews or other fasteners, adhesives, etc.). In other examples, theposition of the mounting plate may be reversed to be installed on aninterior wall of the door, proximate a wall of the tack room.

In FIG. 2, cover 112 is illustrated in partial cutaway to show internalcomponents of the lock system 100. In the commercial embodiment, housing110 is fabricated of aluminum, but any suitable lightweight, rigidmaterial may be used.

Housing 110 houses a movable locking member and drive device in thecollective form of an electric linear actuator 120, although anysuitable manner of actuator that is compatible in size, operation, andmoving mechanics with the particular application may be used. Forexample, in other embodiments, a sliding actuator or rotary actuator maybe used; in still others, a pneumatically- or hydraulic-powered actuatoror mechanism may be used, and/or a configuration in which the movablelocking member and drive device are provided as separate components.

In the commercial embodiment of the lock system 100 shown in FIGS. 2 and3, a concentric LACT2P-12V-20 linear actuator, available from PololuRobotics and Electronics of Las Vegas, Nev., is used. Linear actuator120 is somewhat schematically shown to include a motor 122, a gear box124, a movable shaft 126, and a screw/shaft housing 128, and is orientedin the housing 110 so that the shaft 126 extends through an opening 130formed in one side of the cover 114. In particular, the housing 110 isinstalled relative to the wall W and door D so that the shaft, when inan extended position (shown in dashed lines), bridges the gap betweenwall W and door D. Door D is shown to include a catch C installedthereon to receive the end portion of shaft 126 when extended, but anysuitable arrangement and/or structure that allows shaft 126 to engagedoor D may be used. For example, in some horse trailers, an inwardlyprotruding hollow tube is disposed along the edge of the door; in suchconfigurations, instead of a catch being installed to the interior doorsurface, a hole may be formed in the side of the tube to receive theshaft 126 when extended.

As such, it is evident that in the configuration shown in FIG. 2, theshaft 126 may be operated to move, as indicated by arrow B, between anextended position (shown in dashed lines) and a retracted position(shown in solid lines). Thus, when moved to the extended position, theshaft engages and locks the door D, and when moved to the retractedposition, the shaft disengages and unlocks the door D.

In general, housing 110 is configured to seal the internal componentsthereof from moisture and debris, such as via a fluid-tight permanent orselectively removable attachment of the cover 112 with the mountingplate 114. A linear actuator such as the aforementioned LACT2P-12V-20model includes an internal seal disposed within the screw/shaft housing;thus, the opening 130 may be sized to the diameter of the housing or beotherwise configured to prevent debris or moisture from entering, in anysuitable manner.

Lock system 100 is (somewhat schematically) shown to include a receiver140 that is operably coupled to, and configured to control, the actuator120, and that is shown to be commonly housed in housing 110. Receiver140 is coupled to a power supply P (such as the trailer power supplyand/or the power supply of the vehicle behind which the trailer istowed) by means of wiring 142. As described above, the receiver isconfigured to be responsive to operational control signals transmittedby a selectively actuable control system 150, which in lock system 100is shown to include a wireless remote control unit 152 as well as awired remote control unit 154. Specifically, the receiver is responsiveto operational control signals transmitted by either control unit 152,154 to open or close an electrical circuit between the motor and thepower supply, which in turn moves the shaft 126 between positions tolock or unlock the door.

As noted above, a remote control system such as remote control system150 may include any number of remote control units, which in turn may beconfigured to communicate in any desired manner with the receiver. Locksystem 100 is shown to include two remote units: wireless unit 152,which is configured to communicate with the receiver 140 via wirelesssignals (generally indicated at 160), and wired unit 154, which isconfigured to communicate with receiver 140 via wired signals (generallyindicated at 162).

The remote units 152, 154 may assume any suitable configuration as knownin the art, and thus are shown somewhat schematically in FIG. 2. Forexample, wireless remote unit 152 is shown to include a button or otherinput 164, as well as an LED or other output 166, for example toindicate to the user that the unit has transmitted a wireless signalwhen the button is pressed. Wired remote unit 154 is shown to beoperable by means of a key 168 that may be received in a correspondingslot (not shown), and includes an internal system to transmit a signalupon rotation of the key in the slot. However, any manner orconfiguration of remote units (and a compatible receiver) may be used.In some embodiments, for example those in which the receiver isconfigured to communicate via WiFi or another manner of internet-relatedprotocol, a wireless remote unit may take the form of a personalcomputer, such as a smartphone, a tablet computer, a laptop or desktop,and so forth. Moreover, variations of lock system 100 may be providedwith multiple wired and/or wireless units.

The remote control system 150 of lock system 100 may provide a user withbackup operating means for the lock system. For example, referring toFIG. 3, an example installation of components of lock system 100 isshown to include housing 110 installed in tack room R proximate door D,with shaft 126 positioned to engage catch C when the door is closed. Thelock system 100 is coupled, such as by suitable wiring connections (notshown) to the trailer power supply, schematically indicated at P.Wireless remote unit 152 is schematically shown to be positioned outsidethe tack room, such as if carried by a user desiring to operate the locksystem 100. Wired remote unit 154, however, is shown to be installed inthe living quarters Q, for example on an interior wall thereof, whichmay be inside a cabinet or other structure or otherwise concealed fromplain view. Wired remote unit 154 thus may function as a backup controlunit in the event that wireless remote unit 152 fails to function (e.g.,due to a dead battery or otherwise) or is misplaced.

In lock system 100, receiver 140 is configured to receive wirelesssignal transmissions 160 (from wireless remote control unit 152) as wellas wired signal transmissions 162 (from wired remote control unit 154).Any suitable receiver, or set of components that cooperate to providesimilar functions and operability, may be used. For example, in someembodiments, the receiver may include IR functionality to receive IRsignals from a compatible remote control unit; in others, the receivermay instead or additionally include radio communication functionality,and so forth.

Optionally, the receiver may be configured, such as by programming orsuitable circuitry, to provide additional security in certaincircumstances. For example, the receiver may be able to distinguishamong multiple remote control units of the remote control system, suchas between wireless remote control unit 152 and wired remote controlunit 154. This may be useful, for example, if the wireless unit 152 isthe primary control unit and the wired unit 154 is the backup, as shownin the example installation illustrated in FIG. 3. Further, if thewireless unit 152 is misplaced, to prevent the possibility of furtheruse thereof, such as if the unit 152 is found or stolen by unauthorizedpersons, the receiver may be configured to ignore signals transmitted bythe wireless unit 152 upon receiving a signal from the backup wired unit154. In such an embodiment, the receiver may be provided with a resetfunction once the wireless unit 152 is found or replaced.

Trailer power supply P may be any suitable power supply to powercomponents of lock system 100, such as a 12-volt battery (or multiplebatteries providing a desired storage capacity) onboard the horsetrailer. Optionally, lock system 100 may, in some embodiments, beconfigured to couple to another power source, such as a vehicle powersupply, such as to reduce strain on the horse trailer battery. Asindicated above, although lock system 100 is not shown to include anonboard battery, but rather is coupled to external power supply P,variations of the lock system may include an internal battery orbatteries (or other power source), as an alternative to, or in additionto, being coupled to external power supply P.

An example method of securing an enclosure having a door, such as tackroom R of horse trailer T, is explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.The method may include providing lock system 100, and installing thehousing thereof to an interior wall of the tack room R as shown in FIG.3. Optionally, the installation step may include installing hardwaresuch as a catch member C to the interior of the door in a manner toalign the hardware to receive the shaft 126 of the lock system.(Alternatively, the method may include installing the lock systemhousing on an interior surface of door D of tack room R, and installinghardware such as catch member C to an interior wall of tack room R.)Once installed, the method may include actuating the actuator 120 withcontrol unit 152 or 154 from outside the tack room to move the shaft 126to the locked position, in which it engages catch member C of the doorD.

Although the present invention has been shown and described withreference to the foregoing operational principles and illustratedexamples and embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that various changes in form and detail may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention. The presentinvention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modificationsand variances that fall within the scope of the appended claims.

1. A lock system comprising: a housing; a movable locking member atleast partially disposed in the housing; a drive device disposed in thehousing and operable to move the movable locking member between a lockedposition and an unlocked position; a receiver operably coupled to thedrive device; and a selectively actuable control device located remotelyfrom the housing configured to transmit a signal to which the receiveris responsive.
 2. The lock system of claim 1, wherein the housing isconfigured to be mounted on an interior wall of an enclosure proximate adoor; and wherein in the locked position the locking member retains thedoor in a closed position.
 3. The lock system of claim 1, wherein themovable locking member includes a shaft slidably disposed at leastpartially within the housing; and wherein in the locked position, theshaft extends from the housing, and in the unlocked position, the shaftis substantially retracted into the housing.
 4. The lock system of claim3, wherein when the housing is mounted on an interior wall of anenclosure proximate a door, the shaft in the locked position engages thedoor and in the unlocked position does not engage the door.
 5. The locksystem of claim 1, wherein the drive device includes a motor.
 6. Thelock system of claim 5, wherein the motor is adapted to be coupled withat least one power source operable to power the motor.
 7. The locksystem of claim 6, further including a power source disposed within thehousing; wherein the power source disposed within the housing includesone or more batteries.
 8. The lock system of claim 7: wherein the powersource disposed within the housing defines a secondary power source;wherein the motor is configured to be coupled with a primary powersource external to the lock system; and wherein the secondary powersource is configured to provide power to the motor in the event that theprimary power source fails to do so.
 9. The lock system of claim 6:wherein the housing is configured to mount to a trailer configured to betowed behind a vehicle; and wherein the motor is configured to becoupled to a power source in the form of a trailer power supplyconfigured to provide power to components of the trailer.
 10. The locksystem of claim 5, wherein the movable locking member and the drivedevice are collectively in the form of a linear actuator.
 11. The locksystem of claim 1, wherein the control device includes a wireless remotecontrol device.
 12. The lock system of claim 1, wherein the controldevice includes a wired remote control device.
 13. The lock system ofclaim 12, further including a key configured to actuate the wired remotecontrol device.
 14. The lock system of claim 1, wherein the receiver isdisposed within the housing.
 15. The lock system of claim 1, wherein thehousing is sealed to prevent moisture and debris from entering thehousing.
 16. A method of securing an enclosure having a door, the methodcomprising: providing the lock system of claim 1; installing the housingto the interior of the enclosure proximate the door in an orientation inwhich in the locked position, the locking member prevents the door fromopening, and in which in the unlocked position, the door may be opened;and actuating the control device from outside the enclosure to operatethe drive device to move the movable locking member to the lockedposition.
 17. A lock system comprising: a housing configured forinstallation to an interior wall of an enclosure proximate a door; amovable locking shaft at least partially housed in the housing andconfigured to slide relative thereto between an extended, lockedposition in which the locking shaft engages the door and a retracted,unlocked position in which the locking shaft does not engage the door; amotorized drive device disposed in the housing and operable to slide themovable locking shaft between the locked and unlocked positions; areceiver disposed in the housing and operably coupled to the drivedevice; a power source configured to provide power to the receiver andthe drive device; and a selectively actuable control system locatedremotely from the housing that includes at least two control units eachconfigured to transmit a signal to which the receiver is responsive;wherein the at least two control units include: a wireless remotecontrol, and a backup wired remote control actuable by means of a key.18. A method of securing an enclosure having a door, the methodcomprising: providing a remotely controllable locking unit that includesa locking shaft selectively operable to slide relative to a housingbetween an extended, locked position and a retracted, unlockedpositions; installing the housing to the interior of the enclosureproximate the door such that in the extended position, the locking shaftengages and retains the door in a closed position, and that in theretracted position, the locking shaft does not engage the door; andactuating the locking unit with a remote control device to which thelocking unit is responsive from outside the enclosure to operate thelocking shaft to slide to the locked position.
 19. The method of claim18, wherein the installing includes installing a catch member to theinterior of the door in an orientation aligned to receive the lockingshaft; and wherein the actuating includes the catch member receiving thelocking shaft.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the remote controldevice includes a wireless remote control; and wherein the actuatingincludes wirelessly transmitting a signal via the wireless remotecontrol.